Friday, January 7, 2011

Landing a Big Fish: My Agent

January 7, 2011

I know almost nothing about this blogging thing, so I've recently started reaching out to people who obviously do. One of them is Lia Keyes, founder of the The Steampunk Writers Guild. She suggested that I start out by telling people how I landed an agent. Sort of a 'set the hook' kind of approach. Makes sense. So I will let the cat out of the bag.

My agent is Sterling Lord, co-chairman of Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. (www.sll.com). The agency is headquartered in New York City, in an historical building on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. According to those mysterious people in the know, he is a legend in literary circles. He was the agent to the stars of the 'Beat Generation' writers: Ken Kesey, Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He was also the agent of a favorite of mine, Dick Francis, who passed away recently. There are a host of other heavy hitters too - almost all of them what I call 'real writers', which I do not yet consider myself.

Sterling has been around for a long time. I think he's in his nineties, and he is still hard at it. I have no idea what he sees in me. After all, I am a first time writer and I know that I am not very good at it. Getting better maybe, but not good. It's all the more mysterious since I write fiction for younger audiences, and even more bizarre because Paleopeople, a fantasy novel, is what brought us together. It's not his usual cup of tea.

So let's go back to that fateful day - the day I sent out my first query letters.

October 21, 2009

I sent my query to everybody and their grandmothers through an internet service (www.publishersandagents.net). There, I said it. An internet service. No researching for me. I didn't have time for that crap. I had been in the middle of big business my whole career. I was an alumnus of Harvard Business School. I was not a patient man. By the way, I am learning patience.

I think it cost me $300. They sent the query letter out to a list of publishers and agents supposedly open to receiving them via email. Their list was supposed to target only those interested in fiction. Supposedly. I received my first rejection the same day. I received my first tire kicks the next day. I didn't know it at the time, but I had already found my agent. Here is the text from the email response that got the ball rolling.

Dear Mr. Lyons,

I find your email intriguing. I have retired. I have mentioned it to and am passing it on to Sterling Lord, one of the great literary agents in New York and he will get in touch with you.

With best wishes,



Sterling Lord called me for the first time that afternoon.

I think it is worth noting, and I will fill in the time in between as this blog progresses, that I signed the formal Sterling Lord representation agreement on May 18, 2010. Did I mention that I am learning patience?

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